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Back to Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects

Learner Reviews & Feedback for Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects by Deep Teaching Solutions

4.8
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88,597 ratings

About the Course

This course gives you easy access to the invaluable learning techniques used by experts in art, music, literature, math, science, sports, and many other disciplines. We’ll learn about how the brain uses two very different learning modes and how it encapsulates (“chunks”) information. We’ll also cover illusions of learning, memory techniques, dealing with procrastination, and best practices shown by research to be most effective in helping you master tough subjects. Using these approaches, no matter what your skill levels in topics you would like to master, you can change your thinking and change your life. If you’re already an expert, this peep under the mental hood will give you ideas for turbocharging successful learning, including counter-intuitive test-taking tips and insights that will help you make the best use of your time on homework and problem sets. If you’re struggling, you’ll see a structured treasure trove of practical techniques that walk you through what you need to do to get on track. If you’ve ever wanted to become better at anything, this course will help serve as your guide. This course can be taken independent of, concurrent with, or prior to, its companion course, Mindshift. (Learning How to Learn is more learning-focused, and Mindshift is more career-focused.) A related course by the same instructors is Uncommon Sense Teaching. To join the fully translated Portuguese version of the course, visit: https://www.coursera.org/learn/aprender To join the fully translated Spanish version of the course, visit: https://www.coursera.org/learn/aprendiendo-a-aprender To join the fully translated Chinese version of the course, visit: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ruhe-xuexi To join the fully translated French version of the course, visit : http://www.coursera.org/learn/apprendre-comment-apprendre...

Top reviews

GA

Jul 20, 2017

Really useful insights had been provided by this course. No price can be put on this valuable resource. It's beyond anything valuable. Thank you very much for making this course. God Bless Everyone :)

EJ

Aug 25, 2023

This is course is so helpful it will debunk all the false beliefs and the wrong thing that you're doing in your life. It will also help you to understand your brain, that will make you a good learner.

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76 - 100 of 10,000 Reviews for Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects

By Rajesh K

Jan 13, 2020

Truly incredible course. It was rewarding experience to learn how our brain works. It opens many doors in our life when we know how our brain works, at least we can understand why we have certain kind of feeling. As sometimes we can't understand why we have feeling of discomfort, but it is the brain's signal coming from the subconcious that you have messed up something and now you have to look up where you've goofed up and make it correct. What I have learned is that pain is incredibly powerful tool created by nature. I mean how can know if something bad happened to you if there's no pain(both physical and mental). It's a nature's way of grabing your attention to address that problem so now and next time you be careful and not repeat that mistake. Pain, anger and frustration are really powerful feelings that can do wonders in our life if you acknowledge their existence. It is the path towards the truth. Just like in one of the optional interview we've seen the pain of his grandmother's death due to Alzheimer motivated Nelson Dellis to become memory champion. This course is also helpful for the people who are dealing with Depression, Social Anxiety, PTSD, chronic fear and much more because when they are dealing with those problems it creates a lots of confusion as to why they have certain kind of feeling.

Internet is such an incredibly powerful tool if it is used smartly. I can't believe we have access to such a high quality material for free. Thank you Barbara Oakley ma'am, Terry Sejnowski sir, Coursera team and all the people who are associated with this course.

By Jacques K

Jul 5, 2019

Exceptional course. I work on personal development now for 13 years, have for example read from scott h young a decade ago - and now he is interviewed here and mentioned. Great to see one of my "teachers" featured here.

I have a bachelors and masters degree, recently got some more hard certifications (AWS cloud architect and developer) and needed a way to even learn more and more efficiently in the future both for work / career and personal life.

iI want to learn davinci resolve video cutting, improve in photography, photoshop. lightroom.

As mentioned, i have been working towards personal dvelopment for 13 years, read though about 50 books and 1000 pages of blog posts, but never retained much info - now i have the tools to retain that info, test myself on it, and use spaced repetition to retain it for a decade. Discuss it with my wife to even more deepen the knowledge. Use pomodoro and other techniques to really do my courses 100 percent and not loose interest after 10%.

Thanks Barbara and Terence for this great course which is a lifechanger for me even after i already gained so much knowledge in my past 38 years on this earth.

This course should be mandatory in every school education all of the world as it explains the PROCESS of learning and not just focused on the PRODUCT. I wish, i knew about this course when i was 15 or even 20 years only (now that i am 38).

By Valentin L

Feb 9, 2020

A very comprehensive course on the subject of learning. I have used the research-backed methods taught in this course to improve my learning and not only did I gain a better understanding of the material I was studying but as an adult/lifelong learner, I use the techniques in this course to retain a lot more of my daily reading on various subjects.

I also strongly recommend (to everyone not just Math/Science majors) reading Dr. Barbara Oakley's "A Mind for Numbers" - which is a very useful complementary text for the course.

By Greg Y

Jul 15, 2022

A very helpful course, with good content and good presenation. Well worth the time spent working through the lessions. Thanks for spending the time and effort to create the course, Barabara and Terry!

By Sharmi S

Jan 10, 2018

This course was really good. I learnt alot about learning. I wished I took something like this before starting university. But now it also helps me to learn new things and I finally don't feel stupid.

By Alexander D

Jun 2, 2022

Thhiiss course is really helpfull and brings a lot off bennefit to any student who wants to develope her or his brain capacities.

Thanks a lot to authors! I will recomend it to every person I know!

By Emil M

Aug 31, 2015

There were some interesting insights coinciding with my own experience of learning (I have learnt 8 languages by myself). Particularly the part about chunking was a really good one. On the other hand, Week 4 focusing on how to pass a test in my opinion jumbled the previous material up - passing a test doesn't mean knowledge, it means ability to pass a test. Half of the questions used in the final Quiz shows that this course itself has tried not to develop chunks they were recommending but to make students memorize the content of the video without checking whether or not the content was actually understood and "chunked" into real knowledge.

So, a better name for this course would be "Learning how to learn academically". As for me, I appreciate non-academical knowledge. Kids master their native language without getting the ability to teach it - and this is the true knowledge even though in the farewell video prof. Sejnowski equalized the ability to teach to the knowledge.

By olga d

Dec 4, 2016

This course targets mostly students audience, but not people with the aim of self-development, who passed their academic study long time ago. Therefore, information concerning learning process somehow too much basic, but at the same time can be quite useful if you are not aware of all these facts. What didn't also suit me is a lack of structure and a bit confusing videos explaining different concepts of brain structure and functioning, that seemed too much scientific in the frame of this course. But what really hit my interest is enthralling optional interviews with different scientists and just talented people. They were really motivating and inspiring!

By Luis G d l F

Jul 25, 2019

Very good material for high school, college or university students. Not enough for more serious applications such as business people or researchers. Course challenges / Things nor properly addressed:

- Relationship of Learning to emotions and meaning. - Skills depvelopment vs Academic learning - What drugs / supplements are good to improve learning, besides doing exercise. - More info about subconscious, emotions and their impact on learning. - Please do not include links you need to pay / subscribe (NYT)

Thks for all.

By Marcos P

Jun 17, 2019

Based on the reviews I read, my expectations for this course were pretty high. However, the course ended up being very basic and I didn't learn any new learning technique. I think that for most people who have Googled study methods at least once, they will already be familiar with most (if not all) of the methods introduced in the course. The material may be useful for someone totally new to studying, but even then I would not recommend taking it. You can learn just as much is less time watching YouTube videos or reading brief guides on procrastination and learning techniques.

The quality of the course was also disappointing. The volume in each video jumped up and down across lessons or when different speakers took the lead. I am surprised to see there's so much hype around this course despite its simplistic content and poor quality. I've taken more than a dozen courses at Coursera so far and this one doesn't even come close to the best ones I took.

I'd recommend finding something better to invest your time on.

By Jack M

Sep 12, 2017

It really didn't help, and all the test questions and answers were jumbled and hard to understand. And i found it extremely difficult to follow along with the videos which just made my quizzes that much harder. It's a good course and all, just not organized and everything the people were saying sounded exactly like the last one. Good idea and concept just not well prepared.

By Matthew B

Jan 12, 2019

Some interesting information is presented that could be potentially helpful to students, teachers, & curriculum developers. However, there is little of practical value beyond a few simple statements, e.g. "Spread out your studying over several days." Or "Trying to remember is better than re-reading." Additionally, the course does not practise or model what it preaches.

By Shreya K

Jul 5, 2021

Ableist language is unforgivable in a course designed to speak to learning ; Example 1 : "adhd-like", Example 2 : "EVR had a high IQ and seemed normal, but he was ruined by making bad financial decisions and bad social interactions". If you are autistic, have ADHD, or are neurodivergent in any way, this course will be more harmful than helpful. Your unique and beautiful way of thinking will not be aided in this space. They also overly glamorize of math and science - I am a scientist and I still thought this was a poor choice.

By Yevhen M

Jun 20, 2020

The first chapter was pretty good. But everything else was just obvious things - check summaries and you will see. Learn, do breaks, sleep well, do sport, don't forget to repeat what've learnt. There are some interesting facts but they are not worth spent time.

By Chayton C

May 4, 2020

really slow videos with 0 detail, really weird questions after videos with answers such as "a million billion" idk what this is supposed to be

By Artem M

Oct 11, 2015

Only part 3 was partly interesting and usefull. All the rest is vain.

By Vasili K

Oct 5, 2020

Water over water. Just selling the books and personalities.

By Manisha B

Nov 29, 2020

I didn’t get my certificate even after completion

By Sofia A B

Mar 30, 2020

Learning How to Learn has rekindled my passion of teaching and preparing students for tests. As a teacher of Academic English and Test Preparation, motivating students and understanding which methods would work better for them have been quite a struggle. Thanks to this course, I now have more knowledge to share with my learners and also to apply in my own learning path.

This course starts with an explanation of the human brain and thinking patterns, without boring you, yet including the nitty-gritty of the foundations of learning. The analogies used in the videos and by the wonderful teachers in this course have helped me understand complex brain processes in a simplified, comprehensible manner.

The videos include the physiology of the brain and the relevance of sleeping and exercise in forming new learning opportunities for our brain. There are also tons of tips and suggestions in preparing for tests, acquiring new knowledge and retaining information. As the teachers explain, especially Ms. Barb Oakley, thinking you only have certain strengths and weaknesses leads you to thinking that way and not taking any measures to learn what you are not good at – which should be quite the opposite. The teachers guide you step by step through the ideal learning process.

By Elroy L B J

Jun 7, 2020

I wish I had known this before entering College or University. Most of the content feels like common sense in a way that we all knew this and that were the steps that we had to take to learn better. However, this course reinforces the information so well with logic, explanation and passion such that now, there are no excuses I can make to deny that procrastination is something I can understand and avoid. Learning is certainly up to an individual's willpower to consciously plan your schedule, break down goals, stick to your goals, and most importantly, be consistent by taking a day-by-day approach. Never forget to look at the big picture; conversely, don't focus on the product. Enjoy and trust the process. Simply reading a new passage today can go a long way if you step back and realise how far you can go, or you have gone, just by completing 1 simple pomodoro today. Thank you Professors for the enjoyable learning experience. The first step I am taking is to reinforce my learning from this course onto my learning for my academics. Thank you Coursera for making this course free and accessible.

By Diego M

Jan 23, 2021

The course a life-changing and a must! It took me It took me around 1 week and a half to complete it with an average work of 2 hours per day. As a 17-year-old student, residing in a developing country, the knowledge you get is gold, especially for this stage of life. The lectures are effective, fun, and simple to understand. Barbara and Barb are also really kind and transmit much peace. The assignments are very easy if you pay attention to the videos, in this case, I would recommend that they were more challenging or creative to improve the experience. The additional resources are great for people who wanna deepen their knowledge. The information is based on solid, and professional research made by Ph.D. Professors and scientists from American Universities. What is most important, is that the knowledge you get is applicable for every educational area of your life, not only for academic purposes. I will be forever thankful to Barbara Oakley, Barb Oakley, Terry Sejnowski, the LHTL Team, and Coursera for this opportunity. Greetings from Paraguay!

By Sonja L

Jan 1, 2019

As a chronic procrastinator, I usually get work done in the most stressful way possible because I've never found the motivation to get past all the excuses I make for not starting earlier, even after researching so many study techniques and hacks. This course has been amazing in explaining the reasons that commonly praised techniques work in terms of how our brain actually functions. For example, I have heard that revising at longer intervals will help you remember more information. In contrast, Barbara Oakley explains that spaced repetition will consolidate information from your short-term memory into your long-term memory, as the information won't be considered unimportant and erased from your neural networks. Knowing why these techniques work really motivates me to actually use them.I learnt so many new approaches to studying and life in general in LHTL. I highly recommend it as a way to boost productivity, minimise stress and feel better about the process of studying as something to look forward to, now that there's a framework behind it!

By Camille C

Sep 5, 2020

I’m an almost 60 year old lifetime learner, & even though I am a Psychology honor student , I had never fully connected the dots, so to speak , on how each person’s brain is wired similarly- yet still retains it own unique characteristics/ abilities .

Even thoughI i have a background from my college major studies, I still discovered that ones. own Internal / mental attitudes , beliefs, can play a role in helping improve a individual’s learning!

I very enthusiastically recommend this course , both as a “ stand alone” self improvement genre of course, as well as the whole series of courses which build upon one another that are offered through this application, Coursera.

I throughly enjoyed both of the Professors, the guest speakers in some of the videos, & especially the format in which it was delivered.

The whole course was a joy from beginning to end; & I now have extra “ tools” for my “ toolbox” to apply toward all future learning throughout the remainder of my learning lifetime !

Time and money well spent to receive the certificate !!

By M H

May 31, 2020

Great course, effective and efficient. They got good sources from various optional interviews which can help learners get an insight into others perspectives and experiences. The course videos themselves would not exceed a 10 minute duration making them easier to watch as nobody is really worried about the lack of time they have. The quizzes are effective and straightforward and don't really get you frustrated as some quizzes usually do. The course itself was a fun experience and can be done in a short time period, even though it says 4 week duration on the course one can even possibly finish it in 4-5 days. I myself finished the course before the four week deadline. The fact that it is a self-paced course not only benefits you as you don't have to stress about any course deadlines, timings, etc. it also helps you to manage yourself and your time in a more effective manner and it's a good way to keep yourself busy whenever you have nothing else going on. It's also a good way to learn something if you have a general thirst for knowledge.

By Gabriel G

Sep 16, 2019

This course is truly life-changing. I took it in order to solidify my studying habits. I started Engineering recently, and since it's (in Canadian schools) quite a math-intensive and very rigorous program, Learning how to Learn seemed like a must-do while I'm not neck-deep in exams and homework. As a current student, and as a learner, this course is definitely something that anyone should do if they want to improve their long-term memory and reduce their time spent on studying to assimilate the same amount of information. In my honest opinion, one of the best parts of this course is that you can easily follow it while on transit. For my part, I would download a week's lessons at a time and listen to them while walking to the bus and while riding it. Of course, I missed some information by not using my focused attention so much, but I had time to do my homework at home and learn how to learn elsewhere. Thank you so much for building this incredible course. Thank you even more for making it free. TL;DR: Take the course.